When Pete Salaz revives RedMonkey this weekend, it won’t be just another night behind the decks for the veteran Phoenix DJ. The beloved dance party, a house music institution that lit up Valley clubs for decades, is making a long-awaited one-off return on Saturday, Feb. 28.
For Salaz, an esteemed figure in Phoenix nightlife, RedMonkey’s return offers a chance to extend his legacy. For local rave-scene lifers, it’s a reunion years in the making.
“It has to do with my personal journey and not wanting to just fade off into the sunset,” Salaz says. “People kept telling me how they’re nostalgic for RedMonkey and asking if I’d bring it back. Certain things clicked, and I took it as a sign that it was maybe ready for another shot.”
RedMonkey first launched in 1996, back when electronic dance music and rave culture was surging in Arizona. True to its origins, the party echoed many elements of that vibrant era.
RedMonkey’s revival unfolds inside an undisclosed warehouse, with the location revealed only hours before. The address drops via an old-school infoline, reminiscent of raves from the ’90s and 2000s. Admission is $25 at the door, cash only.
Like many raves of that era, the lineup promises more than just DJs; it features live performances that evoke the eclectic spirit of the scene.
House music anchors the night, with California DJ and producer COFLO headlining. Salaz will perform a back-to-back set with DJ Santos, while Luis “Javi Star” Egurrola, the choreographer for the Phoenix Mercury’s hip-hop squad, adds a live dance element.
Salaz emphasizes nostalgia as a crucial part of the revival. “I wanted to do things very old-school,” he explains. “Everything these days is pre-sales and advance tickets. I wanted to keep the location secret so you don’t find out until the day of the party. It’s in the warehouse district of downtown Phoenix, and it just reminds people of the old days.”
This longing for the past has been building for nearly a decade. The last RedMonkey took place over Thanksgiving weekend in 2017 at Monarch Theatre, a space Salaz co-owned with collaborator Sean “Senbad” Badger.
The party spun out of Chupa!, an early ’90s underground dance venue that Salaz launched with Eddie Amador and other local DJs in downtown Phoenix. The first RedMonkey was a one-off event at Riverbottom Lounge, a now-demolished dive bar.
“Chupa! ended and I was left wondering what to do next,” Salaz recalls. “We’d used Riverbottom before, so I threw an event there. I called it Monkey because I didn’t have anything else, added red because I liked the color, and it stuck.”
What began as a small gathering soon morphed into a thriving party with an evolving lineup of local DJs and a signature atmosphere marked by camouflage netting draped around the room.
The initial practical use of camouflage was to cover a low ceiling, but it quickly gave the party a unique, jungle-like ambiance. Salaz noted how the party became a haven for house music fans, providing a different vibe from upscale clubs in Scottsdale and Tempe.
“People who loved house music found it,” he continues. “It wasn’t in the midst of Scottsdale or Tempe, and nothing was going on in downtown Phoenix back then.”
As word spread, RedMonkey began to draw larger crowds, featuring a range of notable DJs and producers from out of town, including Marques Wyatt and Ellen Ferrato.
Over the years, RedMonkey moved locations as venues changed hands, with stints at Homme Lounge in Phoenix and Insomnia in Scottsdale. However, by the late 2000s, the events began to scale back to a few editions each year. Salaz had previously ventured into hosting Solstice Saturdays, which ultimately became inconsistent with the scheduling of RedMonkey.
“I wasn’t going to throw RedMonkey against my own night,” Salaz explains. “So I started doing fewer of them and chose holiday weekends where 500 people or more would attend.”
Eventually, the final RedMonkey event took place in 2017, as attendance started to dwindle. Salaz sought to preserve the party’s legacy, hoping to avoid overextending its welcome.
Despite low numbers leading to the conclusion of RedMonkey, Salaz noticed a shift in sentiment over the past decade. When he announced the return of RedMonkey, the response was overwhelming.
“It’s receiving a lot of hype, and I know a lot of people are flying in from different parts of the country,” he says.
The revival also resonates deeply among longtime EDM fans, especially in light of the recent closures of Bar Smith and Monarch, two clubs Salaz previously operated.
“I never would’ve hoped that it would’ve turned out that way,” he reflects. “We always knew someday everything would end, but when it actually does, it still hits hard. It’s creating a funneling effect where people are going, ‘Maybe we kind of took Solstice or Monarch for granted. We better not take RedMonkey for granted.’”
As for the future, Salaz remains cautious, expressing that he’s not making any promises beyond this revival.
“I’m not looking beyond this one date. It could be the last one. I really don’t know,” he adds. “I’m never going to say never.”
In the meantime, the anticipation for RedMonkey’s return is palpable, promising an electrifying journey back in time for old-school enthusiasts and newcomers alike.
